Because picking the perfect place is as important as remembering the ring.
The bells and whistles, bouquets and bunting of your big day may get all the attention, but before you can enjoy the wildly drunken antics beautiful celebrations of your wedding day, you need to quit the single life and get engaged, which means picking out a ring, dropping to one knee and proposing to your soul mate - that someone whose weirdness is so compatible with yours, you fell into a mutual weirdness called love. And it will be amazing because it will be just the two of you, lost in a moment that is yours and yours alone as you fall in love all over again.
The problem is the pressure of proposing right.
Your SO has been dreaming of this moment since she heard about Monica’s wedding book, which means she’s probably put a lot of thought into what the experience should be like, feel like, look like -- so it's on you not to mess her dreams up by getting your engagement perfect, and that starts with choosing the perfect place to bend down, look up, present the ring and ask bae if she will turn your life into the greatest love story ever told.
And to help you land your first ‘fiancé of the year’ mug, we’ve pulled together a list of the most romantic places to propose in Norfolk. Go get ‘em, tiger.
1. The Stone Gazebo at Sheringham Park
If you’re looking for a secluded spot that absolutely screams romance, you can’t do much better than the gorgeous 19th-century stone Gazebo at the top of the on the Sheringham Estate. Whimsical woodlands, winding pathways, forget-me-not rhododendrons and a breathstealing panorama of the North Norfolk coast and all of its wilderness. No one could say no in this place.
2. The Temple Folly at Blickling Hall
Falling in love is as ancient as the Greek Gods, so imagine dropping to one knee on the steps of this 17th-century Temple folly built in the style of the Ancient Greeks, surrounded by the simply stunning Blickling Estate - all 4,500 acres of it. This is romance in the purest sense. Falling in love like you’re in a David Nichols novel - unconventional but perfect.
3. The Ancient Footbridge at Walsingham Abbey
Every so often, you stumble across a place that is perfect without having to try, special in ways that can’t be explained, and the ancient footbridge at Walsingham Abbey is one of those places. It’s a rarity - the dramatic ruins surrounded by a woodland dell carpeted with white snowdrops at the beginning of each year. And the footbridge leading over the River Stiffkey is the perfect place to take it all before asking your SO to be your forever and always.
4. The Gondola at The Thursford Museum
This is that something different for those couples that are something different - those that embrace their quirks and love their uniqueness - and popping the question is here is one of those moments you’ll remember forever and a day. Surrounded by a magical museum full of vintage fairground rides, this gorgeous gondola rises and falls like the nervous breathing of someone about to propose. It’s perfect for those who love each others imperfections. And you can grab an ice cream at the classic ice-cream parlour afterwards - your first ice cream as a husband and wife-to-be.
5. The Endless Beach at Holkham
You could travel the world for twenty-years and still not stumble across a beach as beach as Holkham. There’s just something special about the untouched vista of golden sands, windswept dunes, wild pine woods and bordering salt marshes. And it’s even more spectacular when you’re there for sunrise, snuggled up in each others arms beneath a thick blanket, sipping coffee from a flask as you watch the sky turn 50 shades of pink. It’ll be as intimate as it is special.
6. Lovers Lane at Ludham
Never has a name been so perfectly awarded to a place because this walk through the gorgeous Norfolk Broads, amid the countryside, past mills, staithes, thatched cottages and Mother Nature’s magic is the perfect place for lovers to become each other’s everything. So take the circular walk around Ludham, enjoy the romantic riverside paths, pop into the pubs and tearooms, and then head down Lovers Lane, hand-in-hand, knowing you’ve picked the perfect place to ask the most important question of your lives.
7. The Plantation Garden in Norwich
Norwich has a thousand places worthy of this moment, from the cobblestone streets to the Cathedral grounds, but the most romantic place of them all is the hidden oasis known only as The Plantation Garden. It’s unique, charming and perfect. A 19th century secret garden packed-full of character and picture-perfect pathways surrounded by vibrant flowers and exotic plants, babbling Gothic fountain and secluded Italian terraces. Whichever spot pulls at your heartstrings the most, you can’t go wrong with The Plantation Garden.